Tuesday, 27 June 2017

A picture, purportedly of the Loch Ness Monster was published today in some main newspaper websites. Taken at about 1720 on the 22nd June by Australian, Peter Jackson, about four miles south of Urquhart Castle, it is certainly a curious photograph.

The account is reproduced below from the Daily Mail and is also covered by The Sun. The object was estimated at being 150 yards away and was described as moving fast northwards. The articles states that photographs in the plural were taken, but it looks like only one is visible online. Access to the sequence would obviously confirm the movement and possibly even velocity of the object.

A look at the picture suggests the classic long neck looking back towards two humps. But the zoom in below makes you think more of a swimmer with arm upraised. Again, access to the picture sequence would confirm or deny that. For now, I assume the object maintained roughly the same configuration throughout. The most noticeable item is the appendage which has a very evident "kink" in it which suggests it is an un-Nessie like feature.

Indeed, the object is so lacking in uniformity, that one would begin to think it is a large piece of tree debris (though I cannot recall if tree debris goes out that far). Again, if one could see the complete sequence, some theories may come to the fore more than others.

UPDATE

I hve now found a second photograph at this link and shown below. The position of the foreground foliage confirms it is another picture, presumably taken a little earlier and it is clear that this is no swimmer as the "arm" is still stuck up in the air. Zooming in on picture (further below) does not fill me with confidence either that it is a sail boat. I say that because I see no peson sitting up in either picture.

Note there is what might be a lighter area, perhaps a reflection off the surface of the object which may be obscuring part of the objet and giving the impression it is less than it is. Let's just say I am liking this picture more, the only sceptical interpretation that can be entertained is a weird piece of tree debris. Considering it was making its way towards Urquhart Castle, it should be no problem to find this, photograph it and post it on the usual forums. Then again, maybe not.

Holidaymakers on the trip of lifetime have
taken a mysterious photograph of a fast-moving large object - leading
to claims that it could be the Loch Ness Monster.

Peter
Jackson and Phillippa Wearne, of Sydney, Australia, were driving
alongside Loch Ness in the Highlands when they saw something big gliding
through the water.

Retired engineer Mr
Jackson, 64, and former lawyer Ms Weare, 60, said they were stunned by
what was only the second claimed sighting of the monster this year.

Ms Wearne said: 'I really was just stunned
and I thought, "what is it?" It was pretty big even from 150 yards or
more offshore. I didn't know what to think.

'We
took photos and showed them to people at a B&B and (then) on a
cruise. Skipper for the Loch Ness Project, Ali Matheson, said he had not
seen anything like it.

'It seemed to be moving fast but in the
direction of the current. We just figured if he's worked on here for
years and not seen anything like it, then it must be something.'

Mr
Jackson added: 'We were dumbfounded but excited. We just thought 'wow,
what is it?' It has been a childhood dream to come here.

'We were just driving along when we spotted it. We stopped the car and ran back along the road to get the shots.'

The
couple noticed the object moving at 5.18pm on June 22 about four miles
south of Urquhart Castle, while driving north on the A82 on the west
side of Loch Ness.

They safely stopped, ran back to find a clearing in the trees and took out their smartphones to take pictures.

Mr Jackson said: 'I know I saw something and I know it was large so I am keeping an open mind.'

And Ms Wearne added: 'We had a lovely feeling between ourselves watching it until it disappeared.'

Gary
Campbell, registrar of sightings at Loch Ness, said: 'It's great that
once again smartphone technology has allowed visitors to the area to
snap something unusual at the loch.

'This makes it much easier to identify known creatures which has led to a drop in recorded sightings over the past few years.

'This
is only the second sighting of 2017 to make it on to the official
register and we're already halfway through the year, so we're delighted
that Nessie appears to have popped up again.

'With regard to Peter's pictures, as with pretty much all Nessie photos, they are just that little bit indistinct.

'However,
the report that he has submitted gives much more detail on the
distances and time frames and from this, there is really no clear
explanation as to what the family caught on camera.'

He is appealing for anyone else who may have been in the area and seen anything similar on June 22 to get in touch.

The couple arrived in the UK on June 1 and will continue on their travels until returning home to Sydney on June 30.

Ms Wearne said: 'It has always been a wish of ours to explore Scotland - we have Campbell and Cameron blood apparently.'